I squeaked and squawked about dirty wheels, out of align couplers and unweighted cars, so I’m in charge. What am I forgetting. I’m bringing:
hobby picks
postal scale,
NMRA guage
coupler gauge
.010 styrene for coupler shims & hobby knife & pin vice
Coupler springs
bird-shot and glue
I don’t have a coupler bending tool but others do
Buy-in from a willing membership.
(My grad training is in conflict analysis and management, including volumes on cultural issues. This is a cultural issue, and will be highly resistant to change…did I say highly resistant to change? There, did you hear that…highly resistant to change?)
Good luck, Chip.
-Crandell
After reading Crandell’s post I suggest a bullwhip.
A piece of scrap track to put the gauge on. It would be nice if it had a re-railer.
Rubbing Alcohol
Paper Towels
A Kadee uncoupling magnet if your club uses magnetic uncoupling.
Fiber washers to go between the trucks and the car bodies to raise the couplers
Lots of patience and, failing that, beer.
Well, I have to admit that I’m a little upset. There was a good attendence, but the club president decided that he didn’t feel like cleaning cars and that set a precident. Half the members decided not to help. So the rest of us are going to have to come back next week to finsish the job. The two nine year olds, however, were working harder than anyone to clean the cars–it was the adults who decided they didn’t have to help.
That’s a shame. Sounds like the club president is a big part of the problem. Nothing rallies the troops like leading by example. When is the next election?
Jim
You might get them to do a project of making a car test station. It’s been in MR many times, but basically you need a flat board, a couple of sections of sectional track - 2 rerailers and 2 9" straights, or add a third rerailer if you need more length. A paid or Kadee heigh gauges, screwed down at each end (remove the metal dowl used for the magnet height check and run a screw down the hole into the board), tie on an NMRA gauge so it doesn’t get ‘lost’. Add a sheet of paper with a handy length/weight reference under plastic, or just mark the wood out from one or both coupler gauges with tick marks listing botht he distance and recommended weight. Or a strip of measuring tape. If you use a long enough piece of wood you can attach a kitchen scale as well, use velcro for that so you can detach the scale for carrying. Now you have a self-contained test station to check coupler height and adjustment, wheel gauge, and weight.
Simple way to get better participation - make sure the ones actually doing the work checka nd adjust THEIR cars first, forget the ones who don’t particpate. Next time they runa nd their cars all derail and yous and the ones belonging to these two kids stay on the track and run all night long - they’ll come around. They won’t let themselves be shown up by the “new guy” and a couple of kids. Of course once you fix the DCC they’ll probably make you president.
–Randy
Chip,Here is what you will find in my RIP box.
1.2 sizes of modelers screw drivers
2.Coupler springs
3.KD washers
4.2-56 x1/8" ans 2-56 x .25"
6.NMRA Gauge
7.KD coupler height gauge
8.Athearn coupler box covers-I carry them but haven’t had to use one…
9.Extra couplers.
10.Tooth picks
12.needle nose pliers.
He was elected at the anual meeting two weeks ago. That is when everyone decided we need to get the track and cars working.
Chip, First I know its a acceptable practice at some clubs but,the club house is not the proper place to do what should be the owners “home shop” maintenance such as cleaning,inspection and repairs.The members should be responsible for their own cars.At all 3 clubs I am a member of the members are responsible for their freight car’s maintenance even though all cars and locomotives are in pool service on operation nights.Simply put if a car is problematic it gets removed from the layout and tagged with a maintenance slip stating what the problem is and handed over to the owner-each car has a owners identification number or mark.
The lowest priority is cleaning freight car wheels.We are more concern about correct coupler height and correct wheel gauge since those are more important as far as operation then dirty wheels.
Sorry you had to endure that, Chip. Without the buy-in from stakeholders, significant persons, influential persons, Chiefs, shamans, and other people who carry a stick of some kind, getting cultural change, which relies most heavily on trust, is doomed to failure.
So, now you are faced with a real conundrum. You surely value your association with this group, although that may have palled to some extent after your experience tonight. They, or their setup, have much to offer. Yet, your leader has publicly rebuffed you, and that places your priority of getting the layout to perform in the way you’d like on the back shelf. Do you shut up and lump it, or do you walk? Or, do you work the guys individually and get them to trust you, to back you, and to eventually tell the leader, as a cohesive group, that they agree to the change, and want to implement your proposal? There is strength in numbers, as you know, and this person could lose face if you get the group to bully him into backing down. So, you might lose him as a member…don’t know if that would be construed as a loss, but there you go. Depends on the others, in the final analysis. If they want the change, they’ll get it.
That things have gone to the extent that they have suggests that others are quite happy to stay the course, such as it is, and may even have privately approached buddy offering their support if he gets on his hind legs at the meeting and says he doesn’t want the new procedures. End of proposal, and everyone avoids eye contact with you while he says it.
That about right?
talk to him privately and calmly (leave the six-shooters at home [:D] )tell him his attitude isn’t helping . he really should be behind any activity that improves the club in any way . especially one that has been approved by the majority of members . also pretty obvious that his setting a bad example meant that only a few people did the work and it didn’t get finished in one night like it would have if everyone had pitched in
Certainly hand grenade close. The club has degenerated into something–a social club for the older guys, an amusement park for the kids. The only kind of operating is mainline running. Some of the members think that we should try to please everyone and rules get in the way of that.
I
Give it a little more time. Rome was not built in a day. This club did not degrade overnight and it will take a while to change ingrained habits. At least you got ½ of the cars done. Maybe you could suggest a separate work night? Only workingmen allowed; the social butterflies can stay home, and out of the way. Make it clear this is not a bull session. Perhaps over time this night may become more popular than the social club.
Just a thought
Jim
Maybe. I’m worried that a precedent was set. At our annual meeting the club agreed to a plan. IF the president sends the message that no one needs to follow the plan, how will anything get done. Last year we had a similar plan–same president. We agreed to all sorts of things, none of which occurred.
Spacemouse for President!
Haven’t we said that before? And look at how much better off we’d all be if we’d taken that advice.
When the Pennsylvania primary comes up, get all the candidates down to the clubhouse and have them clean wheels.
Chip,Having belong to 9 different clubs over the years I will echo what Jim said.Give the guys time…Remember the guys will need to get use to the new system…As far as the president well he can be voted out at the next election and perhaps you should consider running for that office?
I been in your shoes before at what I call a do nothing club.There was more sports talk then train talk and the layout was 70% and all track could be operate except several areas was cover with plastic where guys had started projects and never completed and left their scenery supplies on the plastic covering the track.Finally I had enough and started cleaning up the messes so the members that wanted to could run trains.I started solo and several other members join in…After 2 weeks we was running trains while other members continued their sports talk and after the third week of operations some of those guys drifted out and ran trains as well.Some times you just gotta take hold and start the march.
Chip
We had that problem this past year.
We made a drastic change and changed the keys to the club room. The problem members were ask to leave and the others were so worried about getting kicked out that they snapped to!
Yes it was drastic but it had to be done. The few problem members were slowly trying to get the good members to quit and they were turning the Club into their own personal layout/hangout.
As for your situation you are the head of the rolling stock committee and just keep on working on the project. YES it sucks that you can’t get the others to help but IF you and the few that want to accomplish something take the bull by the horns and get something done some of the members will soon begin to help as they will see things getting done.
Once the other sticks-in-the-mud sees that you are commanding all of the attention they will either come over to the proper side or begin to drift away.
Do not rely on the Officers to force the others into doing the work. It won’t happen but if enough of the members that want to get things accomplished shun the others (as in not paying much attention to them) the ones not helping will slowly drift away. YES you may lose membership but they were of no help, so no real loss.
Once most of the dead wood is gone then the ones left will be a good working group and the club will better for it.
Ask me how I know ! Been a member of the Clarion Model RR club for over 23 years.
Remember this - The CLUB never has a PROBLEM only the members have a problem! The problem members can go home! Period!
If we were closer WE would
Bob,I also went through a problem like your club had…After the smoke cleared there was seven of us left that was in 1989…Today the club has 49 members and stronger then ever.After the layout was rebuilt in 1993 and completely finish in September of '94 we decided to operate twice weekly and thats been going on since…The only work days we have is when they are called on Saturdays.
The best part there is NO big I’s and little yous…All members have equal voice and matters are settled by popular vote…
I believe the reason the club gets along so good is we operate instead of work,work,work and no play.You see 90% of the members doesn’t have a home layout and that’s the only way they have to run their trains…Of course after the monthly business meetings we usually have pizza while watching railroad videos or we stand around talking shop.
Thanks guys.
At the annual meeting, everyone agreed that the the track was a mess, the cars were dirty, we should have ops sessions and we created a plan. I have to admit, that I was a key in pushing for clean cars, properly weighted, with couplers that actually worked. I was also a strong force in pushing for track and turnouts that work. These are pretty much no-brainers.
I guess I should give it time. But the fact that things are going exactly as they did last year when less got done than the previous year when we had an absentee president, is a little scarry.
I’ve been told since I got there that people need a little time to adjust to change. There are times when I think I’ve done more work on the layout than the rest of the group combined–take one of two others out of the group and it would be true for sure.
I’m worried I’m going to burn out before the others come around. I tell you, I’m getting close.